The New York Times announced that it would no longer publish political cartoons in its international edition, more than a month after facing widespread condemnation for publishing an anti-Semitic cartoon.
Kansas Democrats Will Use Ranked-Choice for Primary
The Kansas Democratic party submitted its plan to the Democratic National Committee to ditch Kansas’ traditional caucus system in favor of a primary election with ranked-choice voting, the Wichita Eagle reports.
Trump Pollster Looks at Options to ‘Expand the Map’
Trump campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio wrote a memo about “expanding the map” to give President Trump “more options for getting the 270 electoral votes needed to win the re-election, where he mentions looking at Oregon,” CNN reports.
“In the memo, Fabrizio maintains that New Hampshire, New Mexico and Nevada — all states that Trump lost in 2016 — are now ‘highly competitive.’ Those are three states where the Trump campaign already has resources on the ground. Same goes for Minnesota, another state where Clinton beat Trump in 2016, but Fabrizio says to ‘keep an eye on’ this cycle.”
“Oregon, however, is no-man’s-land for the national GOP.”
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Trump told aides to deny that his internal polling showed him trailing in key states.
Moderators for First Debate Announced
NBC News announced the five moderators for the first Democratic presidential primary debate, set for later this month.
Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow and José Diaz-Balart will moderate the debate, which will take place in Miami over two nights on June 26-27.
Pelosi Won’t Return Zuckerberg’s Call
“Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg reached out to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in recent weeks to discuss how his company handles viral misinformation, but she has not called him back or personally replied,” the Washington Post reports.
“Pelosi’s decision not to engage with Zuckerberg, one of the most powerful technology executives in the world, reflects her frustration with how Facebook handled a manipulated video clip of remarks by the speaker.”
Biden Leads Warren In Massachusetts
A new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll in Massachusetts finds Joe Biden leading the Democratic presidential race with 22%, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 10%, Pete Buttigieg at 8% and Sen. Bernie Sanders at 6%.
Just over 40% of voters said they were still undecided.
Biden Once Called Barr ‘One of the Best’ Attorneys General
“In 1995, Sen. Joe Biden offered high praise for William Barr, the once and future attorney general who has been roundly criticized by Democrats for his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the 2016 election,” CBS News reports.
Said Biden: “As I know you know, but others should know, too, I truly enjoyed working with you when you were attorney general. You were one of the best I have ever worked with, and there have been a lot of attorneys general since I have been here, and I mean that sincerely.”
Biden Will Call Trump an ‘Existential Threat’
Biden and Trump Need Each Other
Rick Klein: “Both will be campaigning in Iowa, where the political topography will throw them into the same news cycle. It could be a split-screen moment — except the men on both sides of the screen can’t seem to stop talking about each other.”
“To Trump, there’s a comfort level to taking on Biden — along with the risk in elevating him among his 22 Democratic rivals. The insulting nicknames come easily to the president, who is confident he can define Biden much as he did Hillary and Bill Clinton.”
To Biden, there’s utility in taking on Trump instead of his fellow Democrats. His primary opponents want to engage the former vice president — and he has work to do with the progressive base — but Biden would prefer to fix his gaze beyond all that.”
Trump Called Nadler In Hospital
Yahoo News: “Putting aside his sharp political differences with one of his primary congressional tormentors, President Trump made a surprising get-well call to Rep. Jerry Nadler, who was briefly hospitalized in Manhattan in May, Yahoo News has learned. … Trump called Nadler from Air Force One as he was on his way to Japan.”
“Trump told Nadler that he had seen him on television, and that he thought Nadler was ‘tough.’ Trump repeated that assessment several times, adding that he wished the congressman well and wanted to know if he could do anything more. The two men did not discuss politics or impeachment.”
Quote of the Day
“One of my competitors criticized me for not going to Iowa to talk for 5 minutes… My granddaughter was graduating. It was my daughter’s birthday. I would skip inauguration for that.”
— Joe Biden, quoted by Politico.
Democrats Are Playing Too Nice
Jamelle Bouie: ““I think there’s a deeper divide, between a politics that sees the grass roots as an asset to use and cultivate versus one that treats it as a complication to manage. It’s a ‘leader knows best’ approach that may squander the Democratic Party’s advantage of enthusiasm and drive against a corrupt and unpopular president.”
“Then again, Pelosi and Schumer are shrewd politicians with decades of experience. Perhaps their resistance to grass-roots Democrats, and to impeachment in particular, will pay dividends. But we should consider the reverse as well: that a Democratic Party that plays with excessive caution — and keeps its base at a distance — is one that might demobilize its voters and produce the same conditions that helped Trump win in the first place.”
America Grows More Divided
New York Times: “It is the first time in more than a century that all but one state legislature is dominated by a single party. Most legislative sessions have ended or are scheduled to end in a matter of days in capitals across the nation, and Republican-held states have rushed forward with conservative agendas as those controlled by Democrats have pushed through liberal ones.”
“Any hope that single-party control in the states might ease the tone of political discourse has not borne out. Lopsided party dominance has not brought resignation; instead of minority parties conceding that they lack the numbers to effectively fight back, the mood has grown more tense and vitriolic.”
First Hearing on Mueller Report a Dud
Playbook: “What we learned Monday is that any hearing about Robert Mueller and obstruction is going to turn into a partisan war between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans tried to discredit John Dean as a money-hungry, fame-seeking crook. The top of Monday’s hearing didn’t even get aired live on cable because of the helicopter crash in New York.”
“Unless President Trump begins allowing some of his associates to testify, it’s going to be tough for these hearings to break through — and many Democrats realize that.”
Amash Quits House Freedom Caucus
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) told CNN that he stepped down from the House Freedom Caucus after supporting President Trump’s Impeachment.
Said Amash: “I have the highest regard for them, and they’re my close friends. I didn’t want to be a further distraction for the group.”
Washington Post: “His views turned out to be a particular affront to the Freedom Caucus — a group founded in 2015 to push House Republicans in a more purely conservative policy direction. But as Trump rose to dominate the GOP, so, too, has he come to dominate the Freedom Caucus.”
Congressional Pay Raise Shelved Again
“House Democratic leaders are postponing consideration of a bill that would include a pay raise for members of Congress, after facing a major backlash from the party’s most vulnerable members,” Politico reports.
Biden Has Gotten Into Trump’s Head
New York Times: “After being briefed on a devastating 17-state poll conducted by his campaign pollster, Tony Fabrizio, Mr. Trump told aides to deny that his internal polling showed him trailing Mr. Biden in many of the states he needs to win, even though he is also trailing in public polls from key states like Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania. And when top-line details of the polling leaked, including numbers showing the president lagging in a cluster of critical Rust Belt states, Mr. Trump instructed aides to say publicly that other data showed him doing well.”
“Mr. Biden seems to have gotten into the president’s head — at least for now. And on Tuesday, the president will engage with him, if indirectly, for the first time during the 2020 campaign when they both make appearances in Iowa.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“He left. I don’t leave. A big difference.”
— President Trump, quoted by Politico, on the difference between him and Richard Nixon.
